Two In A Million
by CharlotteAgreste
Summary: Austin and Ally meet on their first day as Freshmen in High School when they are partnered together in music class for a project. The only problem with the project is that they have to perform it in front of the entire class, which doesn't sit well with Ally and her stage fright. (I promise the story is better than the summary and is worth reading so PLEASE read it!)
1. Music Class

**A/N: Okay, so I know what people think if a fourteen year old is still into Disney shows, but Austin and Ally was such a beautiful and amazing show and I loved/love that show with all my heart and Austin and Ally are my OTP. They are such a beautiful couple and I miss them everyday. If you have a problem with that, well, that's not my problem. For those of you who DO decide to read this story, I promise that it's worth it because I plan on this story being amazing. I hope those of you who decide to read like this story. Enjoy!**

* * *

 **Chapter 1**

 **Music Class**

Ally Dawson made her way down the hall to her music class, her first class of the day. It was her first day as a Freshmen at Marino High School in Miami, Florida and she was excited to finally be a High Schooler. Ally took a seat at a table in the music classroom as the bell rang, signaling the beginning of the school day. Students filed into the classroom and sat down. The teacher just stayed silent and smiled as she watched the students sit wherever they wanted, which was mostly with their friends. The second bell rang, and the music teacher introduced herself as Mrs. Carter. Ally has expected her to go around the room and ask everyone their name and favorite instrument, like the middle school music teacher had done, but she didn't do that at all.

"I know it's only the first day of school, but I am assigning a project that will be due next Tuesday, which gives you a whole week to complete it." Mrs. Carter told the class. "This is a partner project. You and the partner I assign you to will have to write a song to perform in front of the class next Tuesday when they are do. Now, I expect a lot of effort to be put into these songs. I don't want anything silly or ridiculous."

Ally's stomach dropped and her heart started to race. _Perform?_ She was going to have to _perform_ in front of the class? In front of people she didn't know? Her palms began to sweat at the thought of it. Mrs. Carter began to call out the partnerships, adding that no changes would be made with partners, so people who wanted to work with their friends but didn't get partnered together would have to suck it up.

Ally heard her name and snapped out of her thoughts. Mrs. Carter was giving her her partner.

"Ally Dawson and Austin Moon, you two are going to be working together." She said and then continued to go down her list giving people their partners.

 _Who is Austin Moon?_ Ally thought to herself. Was he in her grade? She didn't know. The only person she was friends with in her grade was Trish.

"Alright, please go find and sit with you partners and get to work." Mrs. Carter said after she announced all the partnerships. Ally didn't know who Austin was, let alone what he looked like, so she sat at her table awkwardly, watching while everyone else found their partners and began working. Suddenly, someone cleared their throat in front of her and she jumped. She looked up and saw a guy with blonde hair and brown eyes.

"Um, are you Ally?" He asked her.

"Oh, uh, yeah." Ally replied. "You must be Austin."

"Yep, that's me." Austin said with a smile on his face as he sat down in the chair next to her.

"So, what grade are you in?" Ally asked him, trying to start a conversation and possibly get to know him a little bit.

"I'm a Freshmen, like you." Austin told her. "We've been going to school together our entire lives."

"We have?" Ally asked in disbelief and Austin chuckled.

"Yes." He replied with a goofy smile. "Don't you remember? I spilled apple juice all over your shirt on picture day in second grade."

"That was _you_?" Ally asked and a smile formed on her face when Austin nodded. "I was so upset that my picture was ruined I cried when I got home."

"Aw," Austin said as he laughed. "I am _so_ sorry." Ally laughed and told him it was okay. She had gotten over it a very long time ago.

"I think I actually have that picture lying around somewhere in my moms _many_ photo albums." Ally smiled.

"Seriously?" Austin asked her and she nodded. "Awesome. My legacy shall live on forever." Ally laughed with him and then pulled her brown, leather book from her bag and a pen.

"Let's get started on this song, shall we?" Ally asked and Austin nodded.

"I really hope you know what you're doing." Austin told her. "I know how to play instruments and I know how to sing, but when it comes to songwriting, I know absolutely nothing."

"I've been writing songs since I was in preschool. I have years of experience." Ally said with a smile.

"Oh yeah, didn't you write that Butterfly Song in kindergarten that we used in the spring play?" Austin asked and Ally nodded. "Not bad for a five year old."

"Why thank you." Ally told him. "Anyways, back to the song. You can help me come up with ideas for the song and what it should be about. Once we know what we're writing about, then we can come up with a title and lyrics. Sound good?"

Austin nodded. "Let's do this."

"Alright." Ally said as she got into songwriter mode. "What should our song to be about?"

"I don't know." Austin told her honestly. "Pancakes?"

"Mrs. Carter said that we can't write a song about anything silly or ridiculous." Ally reminded him and Austin looked hurt.

"Hey, pancakes are not silly _or_ ridiculous." Austin told her as he defended his favorite food. "They are one of the greatest creations ever! Next to music."

Ally giggled at him. "Okay, I'm sorry." She said. "I didn't mean to offend you."

Austin huffed and said "Apology accepted." Ally laughed at him and he just smiled.

"Okay," Ally started, getting back on topic. She had let herself get distracted from her work for too long. "When you're writing a song, you want to write from your heart and use your own personal experiences to come up with lyrics because then the song is more true to you and that makes it all the more special. Does that help at all?"

Austin nodded. "Okay, so what is your heart telling you?" Ally asked.

"My heart is telling me that I _really_ want pancakes right now." Austin said. "I had to skip breakfast this morning so I wasn't late on the first day."

Ally gave him a look. "I'm pretty sure that's your _stomach_ telling you that you want pancakes. _Not_ your heart." She said. "Come on, be serious. Really dig deep."

"I feel like you're asking me to soul-search." He told her.

"Yeah, I pretty much am." Ally told him. "But _that's_ how we can come up with a good song." Austin nodded in understanding.

"Okay, so what's on your heart?" Ally asked him.

Austin stayed silent for a few minutes as he thought it over. What _was_ on his heart? He had never really soul-searched himself before.

He spoke up after a few minutes and said,"How about proving people wrong?" He suggested.

"That's good!" Ally said. "Can you be little more specific?" Austin nodded.

"Like, making someone do a double take of sorts when they see the person you've become and where your life has gone. Obviously, in a positive way." He explained. "Like, say a teacher didn't think a student was ever going to go anywhere in life because of their horrible grades and things like that, but then maybe five years later, they're a billionaire and own their own company."

"Austin, that's _really good."_ Ally told him. She completely understood where he was coming from. "I think we've finally got our song title."

Ally took her pen and wrote _Double Take_ at the top of the blank sheet of paper in her book. She showed it to Austin and he just smiled and nodded.

"Awesome!" He said. "I didn't even know I knew _how_ to soul-search, but look at that I did it!" Ally smiled and laughed at Austin's child like cheer. Ally looked at the time and saw that the bell was going to ring any minute.

"Okay, so the bell is going to ring in a couple minutes." She started. "Do you want to come over to my house after school and work on the song some more?"

Austin nodded. "Sure. What's your address?"

Ally ripped a blank piece of paper from her journal and wrote her address and phone number down on the paper, then she folded it up and handed it to him. Austin read it and chuckled to himself.

"What's so funny?" Ally asked curiously.

"Oh, nothing." Austin told her. "It's just that we live on the same street."

"We do?" Ally asked and Austin nodded.

"Yeah, I live just down the street from you." He said as the bell rang, signaling the end of class.

"Wow, I can't believe I've never seen you around the neighborhood before." Ally said.

"To be fair, when I was younger I spent most of my time at the neighborhood basketball court with my friends." Austin told her.

"That makes sense." Ally said as she put her book back into her bag and started waling towards the door. "I'll see you after school, then?"

"Yeah." Austin told her with a smile. "After school."

Ally smiled back, exited the music room and walked off to find her next class.

 **oOo**

Ally noticed Austin was in a lot more of her classes throughout the day. She couldn't believe she didn't remember that he was the one who "ruined" her second grade picture. She had been so mad at him that day, too. Ally smiled as she remembered that day, then her mom pulled up in her car in front of her.

"Hey honey, how was your first day?" Penny Dawson asked her daughter.

"Great and terrible." Ally told her mother as she closed the passenger door and they drove off towards home. Ally had remembered that she had to _perform_ the song she and Austin were writing in front of _the entire class._

"Why terrible?" Her mom asked her.

"We were assigned a partner project in music class today that's due next week." Ally told her.

"Okay, and you don't like your partner?" Her mom asked when she didn't get the full story.

"What? No, he's fine. There's nothing wrong with him." Ally told her mother.

"Him?" He mother asked in a teasing tone, and Ally rolled her eyes.

"We didn't get to pick our partners." She told her. "Anyway, we have to write a song and _perform_ it in front of the _entire class_ next week."

"I'm not seeing the problem, honey." Her mother said.

"Mom, you _know_ I have _horrible_ stage fright." Ally reminded her mother. "I can't perform in front of the entire class. Especially, people I _hardly know."_

"Yes, that's right." Penny said as she remembered how her daughter got her stage fright all those years ago. "You sang in front of your class last year, though?"

"That was different mom." Ally said. "I _knew_ all those people, and I just stared at the music in front of me while I played the piano. The only person I know in my music class is my partner."

"Sweetie, I'm sorry." Penny told her daughter. "I wish there was something I could do to help."

"Speaking of help," Ally said, changing the subject. "My partner is coming over after school to help me work on the song some more."

"Okay." Penny said. "Will he be staying for dinner?"

"Um, most likely not." Ally told her mother as they pulled into the driveway of their house.

"Alright," Penny said as they got out of the car. "Maybe some other time."

Ally rolled her eyes playfully and began to think of possible song lyrics as she walked into the house.

 **oOo**

Ally had been home for ten minutes in the living room writing down possible lyrics for her an Austin's song in her book when there was a knock at the front door.

 _That must be Austin._ Ally thought to herself as she rose from the couch.

"I'll get it, mom!" Ally hollered up the stairs and Penny called back with an "Okay." and Ally made her way to the front door, her book in one hand as she used her free hand to open the door.

As she thought, there stood Austin Moon with a goofy smile on his face.

"Howdy, partner." He said in an _awful_ southern accent, causing Ally to laugh.

"Howdy." She said in her normal voice. She stepped out of the doorway and said, "Come on in."

Austin nodded and walked over the threshold and into the house. He looked around in awe.

"You have a nice house." He said as Ally closed the door. Ally nodded.

"Thanks." She said. "I'll tell my mom you said that."

Austin just nodded as he looked around some more.

"Well, my bedroom is just upstairs, come on." Ally said. "I have a keyboard and stuff up there, plus it will give us a more private work space."

Austin followed her upstairs and into a medium sized room with light purple walls, nice hardwood flooring, a white desk and dresser and a full size bed.

"You have a nice room." Austin told her. "It's very clean, unlike my room."

"For some reason, that doesn't surprise me." Ally said with a laugh.

"Yeah, it doesn't surprise a lot of people." Austin told her.

"Okay, let's get to working on the song." Ally said. "I wrote down some lyrics in my book before you got here. I thought of them when I got home."

"Okay, let's hear 'em." Austin said in an excited voice.

Ally walked over to her piano nervously. She hadn't played in front of anyone since her final project before the end of eighth grade last school year, and she nearly threw up when she did that. If she couldn't play inf font of someone like Austin, who was quickly becoming a friend in her mind, how was she supposed to play in front of the entire music class mostly filled with strangers?

"Ally?" Austin's voice snapped her out of her thoughts.

"Yes?" She asked.

"Are you okay?" He asked her. "You've been standing there zoned out for almost five minutes."

"Oh, yeah. I'm fine." She said. "It's just, uh, I have really bad stage fright, so...playing in front of people makes me nervous."

"If you have stage fright than why are you taking music class where you have to perform in front of the class?" Austin asked her.

"I love music, and I love playing it and making it." She told him. "I don't want my stage fright to get in the way of me doing something that I love. It was kind of bearable in middle school because I knew everyone. I knew their names and I had grown up with them. Now, music class is filled with strangers. People I don't know. I can't play in front of them."

"Why don't you just tell Mrs. Carter that you have stage fright?" Austin asked her. "That way you could just record your assignments and email them to her or something."

"I don't want to get any sort of special treatment because of some stupid stage fright, Austin." Ally told him. "I want to get the same treatment as the other students. If that means almost having a nervous breakdown, then so be it."

"Ally, you can't live like that." Austin told her. "Why don't you just tell Mrs. Carter you have stage fright, and then maybe you won't have to sing anything to add to your stage fright. You can play the song on the piano or something and I could sing it."

"I appreciate the concern, Austin, really, but I don't think that's a good idea." Ally told him.

"Well, you won't know until you try." Austin said. "So, try. Just once."

Austin gave her a puppy-eye look and she couldn't resist.

"Ugh, fine!" She exclaimed. "I'll try your idea. I may not like it, but I'll try it."

"Cool!" Austin said. "Now, about the lyrics you came up with?"

"Right!" Ally said and she sat down at her keyboard, then turned to Austin. "Um, could you maybe, like, turn around or something? So, I know you aren't watching me?"

"Oh, yeah, sure." Austin said and he quickly turned around so his back was to her.

Ally took a moment to take a deep breath and calm her shaky hands. When she felt composed enough, she began to play and sing.

 _Flip a switch_

 _Turn on the lightning_

 _Get it right_

 _Show 'em how it's done_

 _Freak it up_

 _No matter how you dress that song_

 _Girl you know_

 _You got a number one_

 _Go with it_

 _You got 'em where you want 'em_

 _Drop the beat_

 _They wanna hear your sound_

 _Play it up_

 _It's coming down to you right now_

Ally stopped playing and said, "That's all I've come up with, and you can turn back around now." Austin turned back around and he had a bug smile on his face.

"Ally, those lyrics are awesome!" He told her. "Could we speed it up a bit though? It's too slow."

"Oh, yeah, I guess we could speed it up a little." Ally told him.

"May I?" Austin asked, gesturing to the keyboard.

"Oh, yeah." Ally said and she scooted over on her piano bench to make room for Austin. Austin slid next to her and then started to play the notes and sing the song at a faster pace.

"That sounds good!" Ally told him.

"Totally!" Austin cheered. "Oh, you have a pretty voice, by the way."

Ally blushed at the compliment and looked to the floor. "Thanks." She said, sheepishly.

Austin only nodded and asked, "Hey, do you have any other instruments?"

"Uh, yeah." Ally replied. "I have a guitar. It's in it's case under my bed."

"Could I use it?" Austin asked.

"Yeah, sure." Ally said. "Go ahead, just don't break any of the strings."

"I won't." Austin said with a chuckle as he retrieved the guitar from under Ally's bed.

Austin and Ally worked on the song for another hour and a half, coming up with lyrics for the second verse and a little for the chorus. Ally had gotten more comfortable with playing around Austin, and her nervousness went away as they got further into the song. The pair were singing through what they had come up with when there was a knock on Ally's bedroom door.

"Come in." Ally called as she and Austin stopped playing their instruments, her mother walked in with a smile on her face.

"From what I've heard, it sounds like things are going good up here." Penny said.

"Yeah." Ally said, standing from her piano. "Mom, this is Austin. Austin, this is my mom."

"Nice to meet you Austin." Penny said with a smile, Austin stood and shook her hand.

"Nice to meet you, too, Mrs. Dawson." Austin said.

"Austin, please, call me Penny." Penny told him. "Mrs. Dawson makes me feel old."

"Alright, Penny." Austin said.

"Well, I just came up here to say that your father and I are almost finished with dinner and Austin, you are welcome to join us if you'd like." Penny said.

"Mom." Ally said, giving her mother a pointed look.

"Sure. What's cooking?" Austin said and his eyes lit up like a five year old on Christmas morning.

"We're making spaghetti." Penny told him.

"I _love_ spaghetti!" Austin cheered and Penny laughed at him. Ally just smiled and rolled her eyes playfully.

"Is there any food you _don't_ love?" Ally asked him in a teasing tone.

"Uh, yes." Austin told her. "Brussel sprouts and beets, disgusting."

"Yeah, okay." Ally said. "I can agree with you on that."

"Alright, well, I'll leave you two to get back to work." Penny said and she exited Ally's room, closing the door behind her.

"Okay, well, I think we've done enough work on the song for today, so do you want to work on some work we got on other classes?" Ally asked.

"Sure." Austin told her. "Are you by any chance good at geometry?"

"Austin," Ally started with a smug smile. "I have never failed a class in my entire life, of course I'm good at geometry. What do you need help with?"

Ally helped Austin with the geometry packet until dinner time, and dinner was a success. Although Lester Dawson wasn't too fond of a boy being over, he quickly got over it as he got to know Austin and as Austin cracked multiple jokes and made everyone around the table laugh multiple times.

Austin went home around seven o'clock after Ally had helped him with some science work he didn't understand. Ally couldn't help but think that the day was a success in general. Not only did she gain a new friend from the project in music class, but a friend who actually enjoyed music the same way she did. A friend she hoped she would have forever.

Austin walked home thinking about the crazy day he'd had. Not only had he met Ally, who he had spilled juice on in second grade, but he had quickly become friends with her. Not that he was complaining. She was fun to be around and she was a lot more normal than his best friend, Dez. Not that Dez's weirdness was a bad thing, it was one of the things Austin liked about him the most. Austin thought of the day as a success and couldn't wait for the rest of Freshmen year, he felt like it was going to be a good year. Not just for him and Dez, but for him and Ally, too, because Austin had a plan.

He was going to help Ally get over her stage fright. He was going to help her show the world how talented she was.

Both Austin and Ally fell asleep that night with smiles on their faces and positive thoughts about the year ahead of them.

 **A/N: AH, this chapter is almost four THOUSAND words. Damn. Anyway, I hope those of you who decided to read this story liked it. I have lot's of plans for this story and can't wait to put them into action. I know the one's who decided to read will enjoy where this story goes. Also, Trish and Dez will be in the next chapter, that I can promise. So, look forward to "seeing" them in the next chapter and not just having their names mentioned. Until next time, then!**

 **~Charlotte**


	2. Anxiety

**Chapter 2**

 **Anxiety**

 _Four Days Later  
_

"Make 'em do a double take." Austin finished, Ally smiled and clapped.

"That was great!" She exclaimed. "Also, we just finished our song!"

"Really?!" Austin asked. "I actually helped write a song. This feels so awesome!"

Austin suddenly embraced Ally and she hugged him back, they both hugged each other before releasing each other awkwardly.

"Doesn't it feel good to finish a song?" Ally asked, breaking the silence that descended upon them.

"It feels great!" Austin said, over exaggerating just a bit. "Plus, it was fun. I love fun stuff!"

Ally laughed. "Yeah, I've noticed."

"Speaking of our song." Austin said. "Have you talked to Mrs. Carter yet about you not wanting to sing?"

"Uh, no." Ally said. "Not yet. I'm actually afraid to ask her. What if she says no?"

"Ally, if you just tell her that you aren't comfortable with singing in front of people, I'm pretty sure she'll understand and she'll let you play the guitar instead of sing." Austin told her.

"She probably will." Ally said. "I'm still scared though."

"Don't be." Austin said. "I'll ask her with you."

"You will?" Ally asked.

"Yeah, if you want me to so you don't feel so awkward." He told her.

"Okay, yeah," Ally said. "Thanks Austin."

"Course." He said and his phone vibrated in his pocket. He pulled it out to check what it was.

"It's my mom, she wants me home." He said, standing from the piano bench and slinging his backpack over his shoulder. "I'll see you tomorrow, Ally."

"See you tomorrow." She said, smiling at him as he exited her bedroom, closing the door behind him.

Ally closed her book and flopped backwards onto her bed. Could she really do this? Could she really play the guitar in front of all her classmates? Austin said the guitar would fit better with the song than the piano, which she agreed with, but still. Even if Mrs. Carter let her play the guitar instead of sing, she would still be playing in front of people she didn't know. Sophomores, Juniors and Seniors. Could she really do that? What if she messed up and they laughed at her? Or made fun of her? What if this one project determined the rest of her life in music class as a failure? She loved music and she didn't want this project to mess everything up for her. She had never let her stage fright get in the way before back in middle school, but she had known those people. She had grown up with them. She knew their names, if they had any siblings and she even knew where some of them lived after being invited to a few birthday parties. She was comfortable with them.

There were no other Freshmen in music class besides Austin. Who she was comfortable with and trusted. He told her that everything was going to be fine, that she was going to be fine. She wanted to believe him, she really did, but her stage fright and a little voice in the back of her head kept telling her that she was destined for failure. She wanted to just forget the project and not do it, but she and Austin had worked too hard on their song and she didn't want to let her fear get in the way of a getting a good grade, or Austin's fun.

"Ally, dinner is ready!" She heard her mom holler up the stairs. Ally sighed and pushed the negative thoughts from her mind before hollering back.

"I'm coming!" She said and she rose from her bed and made her way downstairs.

* * *

The next day, Ally walked nervously into the music room and sat down at her and Austin's table. He wasn't there yet, so she sat there nervously fiddling with her hair and biting her bottom lip. Why was she so nervous? She was just talking to a teacher about an assignment. She did that all the time, especially back in middle school when the teacher didn't give clear directions, which none of the middle school teacher did most of the time. Why was this any different?

"Ally." Someone calling her name made her jump and snap back to reality. She looked to her side to see Austin waving his hand in front of her face.

"Sorry." She said. "Yeah?"

"You ready to ask Mrs. Carter?" He asked her.

"Oh, right." She said. "Uh, yeah. Let's just get it over with." She and Austin left their things at their table and then walked up to the Mrs. Carter's desk. Ally glanced at the clock. The bell was going to ring in two minutes. She had two minutes to talk to the teacher and get back to her seat in time so the other students wouldn't watch her up in the front of the classroom.

"Mrs. Carter?" Austin said when they made it to her desk, she looked up from her computer that she was typing on to look at them.

"Yes?" She asked in her soft voice.

"Uh, Ally has something she'd like to ask you." Austin said, Ally shot him a look and he motioned for her to ask her.

"Um," Ally started. "It's just...the thing is, I have stage fright. Like, severe stage fright, and I don't like performing in front of people, so is their any way that I can just play the instrument for our song instead of singing with Austin? And if so, could I possibly do it in a way where I'm not facing the class?"

"Oh, Ally, of course you can." Mrs. Carter said.

"Really?" Ally asked and she nodded.

"Yeah. I understand that it's uncomfortable for some people, so of course it's alright. But I do hope you rid yourself of that stage fright some day, I've been told that you're a good performer." She told her.

"Yeah." Ally said awkwardly. "Someday. Anyway, uh, thank you, Mrs. Carter."

"Sure, no problem." She said and she turned back to her computer and continued typing while Austin and Ally walked back to their table.

"See?" Austin said. "I told you she'd understand. Was that so bad?"

"That was terrifying." Ally said honestly and Austin chuckled at the scared look on her face.

"It's alright. You did it." He told her. "And you're going to great when it comes time for you to break out of your stage fright shell."

Ally smiled. "Yeah, if it ever happens."

"It will." Austin told her. "Because I'm going to help you. After this project is over, we start a new project. Project 'Get Rid of Ally's Stage Fright'."

Ally giggled. "Okay, sure." She said. "It would be nice to get in front of people and not feel like I'm going to puke."

They laughed and the bell rang, so they looked up to the front of the classroom as Mrs. Carter began teaching.

* * *

After school, Ally met up with Trish at Sonic Boom, the store that her dad owned, in the Miami mall and Trish came in to tell Ally about the new job that she had for the day...or next few hours.

"Guess who got a job at Cupcake City?!" Trish came in wearing the Cupcake City uniform and holding up a cupcake in her hand.

Ally smiled at her best friend and rolled her eyes playfully. "Trish, you know there's no eating in the store...but I do love cupcakes give me that."

Ally snatched the cupcake from Trish's hand and took a bite out of it.

"They have a lot of cupcakes. That one I dropped on the floor." Trish said, Ally grabbed a napkin out from under the counter and spit the chewed up cupcake into it.

"That's what I get for breaking the store rules." She said.

"So, how's the songwriting with _Austin_ going?" Trish asked and Ally smiled.

"Don't say his name like that." Ally told her.

"Like what?" Trish asked, innocently.

"You know what I mean. Like I have a crush in him." Ally said. "I _don't_ have a crush on Austin. We're just partners for this project in music class and we're starting to become good friends."

"Sure." Trish said. "You'll see. You two will be together before we graduate."

"What makes you say that?" Ally asked. "You haven't even met him yet."

"I'm psychic." Trish said with a goofy smile on her face, Ally scoffed and rolled her eyes.

"Yeah, and I'm Queen Elizabeth." She said. "You can meet Austin some other day, for now, you probably need to get back to work."

"You're probably right." Trish said. "I started my five minute break two hours ago. See you later, Ally." Trish said, turning around to leave.

"You're still coming over for dinner tonight, right?" Ally asked her.

"Of course!" Trish said, still walking out of the store. "Love you."

"Love you, too." Ally said and the store door closed behind her best friend as she walked away and was most likely going to have the rest of her day to herself because she was most likely about to get fired.

* * *

Around six o'clock that night, there was a knock on Ally's bedroom door.

"Come in!" She said, closing her book and putting it on her bedside table. The door opened to reveal Trish.

"Hey!" Ally said, getting up from her bed to hug her best friend. "So, did you get fired?"

"Oh yeah, totally." Trish said, brushing it off. "It's okay. I'll get another job tomorrow."

"I don't doubt that." Ally said and then she looked to the floor of her bedroom. Trish noticed the look of nervousness on her best friends face.

"What's wrong?" She asked. Ally's head snapped up and she stammered.

"What?" She asked. "N-n-nothing's wrong. Why would something be wrong?"

"Ally, you're forgetting we've been best friends since kindergarten. I know you." Trish told her. "Now, what's wrong?"

Ally sighed after a moment, caving in. "Alright. I'm nervous about my music class project with Austin."

"I thought Mrs. Carter said you could just play the guitar while Austin sings?" Trish asked, Ally nodded.

"She did, but even though I am just playing the guitar and facing away from everyone, it's still a performance in front of people, Trish." Ally said. "I haven't performed in front of anybody since...you know when."

"Yeah, but Ally, you are an amazing musician. I'm pretty sure you can play more instruments than I can count." Trish told her, Ally smiled softly. "What I'm saying is, you're amazing when it comes to music and everything else you do. If the people in your music class can't see that or they make fun of you for having stage fright, forget them. They can go fly a kite."

"Thanks, Trish." Ally said and the two girls hugged. "I'm so lucky to have a friend like you."

"Yeah, you really are. I'm great." Trish said, cockily and they laughed.

"Girls! Dinner is ready!" They heard Lester call up the stairs.

"We're coming, dad!" Ally called back. Then, she and Trish made their way downstairs and Ally felt a little more confident about performing.

Just a little.

* * *

Meanwhile, down the street at Austin's house, he and Dez were focused on beating one another in a video game. Austin's tongue was stuck out the side of this mouth and Dez stared at the TV with the creepy smile that something showed up on his face. He was determined to beat his blond haired best friend.

Dez's character crossed the finish line in first place and Austin's crossed in second. Dez cheered and Austin groaned.

"Dude, _how_ are you so good at Mario Kart?" Austin asked his red haired friend.

"I honestly have no idea." Dez said. "I guess it's in my genes."

"You're whole family is good at Mario Kart?" Austin asked.

"What?" Dez asked. "No, I mean I memorized a Mario Kart cheat manual that I keep in my jeans."

Dez dug his hand into his pocket and pulled the cheat manual out and showed it to Austin.

Austin looked surprised at his best friend. "There's a cheat manual? So you admit to cheating?"

"I guess." Dez said.

"Can I borrow that?" Austin asked, eagerly.

"Sure, why not?" Dez said and Austin snatched it from his hands and Dez was unaware that h had just given his best friend the way to finally beat him in Mario Kart.

Austin folded the manual and stuffed it in his backpack, he stopped when he saw the song lyrics Ally had given him a copy of sitting there and pulled them out.

"I should probably go over these lyrics again and make sure I've got them right before I go over to Ally's tomorrow." Austin said.

"Speaking of, when am I going to meet this Ally girl?" Dez asked.

"I don't know, Dez." Austin said. "Ally and I want to set up a day where the four of us can hang out and meet one another."

"The four of us?" Dez asked.

"Oh, Ally's best friend Trish has been dying to meet me apparently, so she wants to be there when I take you to introduce you to each other." Austin explained.

"Oh. I hope she's nice." Dez said.

"Ally or Trish?" Austin asked him.

"Both." Dez replied.

"Ally is super nice, and also super dorky and awkward, but in a good way. From what I've heard though, Trish can be a little rough around the edges." Austin told him.

"I shall make them both like me!" Dez exclaimed in a determined voice, Austin laughed at his friend.

"They'll love you, buddy." Austin told him. "I'm sure of it."

"Really?" Dez asked, a hopeful look on his face. Austin smiled and chuckled.

"Really." He said.

"Cool. Now, what's this I hear about lyrics?"

* * *

The next day after school, Ally was pacing nervously in her living room. The reality of the entire situation was beginning to sink in and she was panicking.

There was a knock at the front door, but Ally continued to pace.

"Come in!" She hollered from the living room as she continued to pace. She heard the door open and his voice followed.

"Ally?" Austin called.

"Living room." Ally called back. She heard his footsteps getting closer and saw him stop in the doorway in her peripheral vision.

"Ally, what's wrong?" She heard him ask. He sounded so far away. Ally felt herself begin to hyperventilate.

"We-we have to perform in front of the class tomorrow." She said through her heavy breaths. "I can't-I can't do it Austin. Not in front of all those people."

She heard something drop to the floor. His backpack? She felt his hands on her shoulders that kept her from pacing. She faced him, her breaths coming out uneven and ragged.

"Ally, yes you can." Austin told her. "I believe in you, okay? You can do this."

"No, I can't." Ally's voice broke and tears leaked from her eyes. "What if I mess up? What if I freeze and everyone stares or laughs? What if I humiliate myself?"

"That's not going to happen." Austin said.

"How do you know?" She breathed.

"Because you don't need to think about what the class is going to think. All you need to think about while you're up there playing, is that you believe that you can do this and that you are talented. If you keep telling yourself that you can't do it, then you won't be able to. You have t believe in yourself, Ally." Austin told her. "I believe in you, Trish believe in you I'm pretty sure and your parents believe in you, but _you_ have to believe in you, Ally."

"I don't know how to do that." Ally said. "Austin, I can't breathe!"

"Okay, okay, just, take deep breaths with me okay?" Austin told her, she nodded and they took a few deep breaths. Ally seemed to be calming down just a little bit.

"Ally, when you're up there, just think about how you felt when you played the butterfly song in front of the class in kindergarten." Austin said. "How did you feel then?"

"I felt-I felt...happy. I felt...proud of myself. I was a little nervous, but I knew I could do it." She said.

"Okay, I want you to remember that feeling when you're up there with me tomorrow, okay?" Austin asked. "Can you do that?"

Ally nodded. "I think so." She said. Austin shook his head.

"That's not good enough." He said. "Remember, you have to believe you can do it. So, can you do that tomorrow?"

Ally nodded again. "Yes, I can." She said. Her breathing began to slow, the black dots in her eyes began to disappear and she started to calm down. She sighed heavily and slid down the wall. Austin slid down and sat next to her.

"Are you okay?" He asked her after a moment. Ally nodded.

"Yeah, I'm alright." She told him. "Thanks."

"Of course." He said. "Happy to help."

It was silent between them for a few moments before Ally spoke.

"I got my stage fright two years ago when I was thirteen." She said, softly. Austin looked over to her, but she stared off at nothing.

"I was auditioning for the New York Music Academy, it had been my dream school and still is a little. The head of the academy was holding the auditions in Miami and my dad said he could use Sonic Boom as the place to hold the auditions. I was... _so_ excited." She said, a sad look appeared in her eyes.

"The girl that auditioned before me was good, but the head yelled at her and said she was terrible and good at wasting time. That's when the fear set in." She continued. "When I walked up the piano, he told me he hoped I was better than the girl before me. Then he said that getting into that school could make or break my music career so I shouldn't blow it."

A tear slid from Ally's eye and she sighed. "I was so scared of ruining my one chance at getting into my dream school, I lost it. My hands wouldn't stop shaking and...and I couldn't play. As hard as I tried, I couldn't do it. He yelled at me then and said that I would never make it in the music business and that I shouldn't even try if I couldn't even play a single note on the piano. I remember running up to the practice room, sitting down at my old, rugged piano and crying my eyes out for hours. I had never felt like more of a failure in my entire life. That's why I don't like performing. If I don't perform, then I can't fail."

Ally finished telling her story and Austin couldn't help but feel anger at the head of that school who made Ally feel like a failure. She was anything but a failure.

"Ally, the head of that school doesn't know what he missed out on." Austin told her. "You are an amazing piano player, guitar player, singer. You're amazing everything I've seen you do so far. If he couldn't see the potential you had and still have, then that school didn't deserve you."

Ally smiled at him and wiped the tear from her cheek. "Thank you, Austin." She said. "You have no idea how much that means to me."

"Just speaking the truth." Austin told her. "And don't worry. I will keep my promise at helping you get rid of your stage fright after this project is done and out of the way."

"We can try I guess." Ally said. "We should probably practice our song now, shouldn't we?"

Austin chuckled lightly. "Yeah, probably."

"Okay, let's head upstairs." Ally said and they stood up. Ally's legs were still a little shaky from her panic attack, so she stumbled a little, but Austin caught her arms and kept her from falling.

"Who knew you were so clumsy?" He asked and she giggled.

"Oh shut up." She said, Austin chuckled and they began heading to the stairs. Austin grabbed his bag from the living room doorway and they made their way upstairs for their final practice of their song before the big day.

 **A/N: Hey, look. A chapter for a story that isn't TVD related. Cool! Anyway, I have an announcement.**

 **So, I made a snapchat account for this fanfiction page that you guys can add me on and see what stories I'm updating and we can even chat if you guys want to talk to me!**

 **The username is SalvatorePrim, so go add me!**

 **~Charlotte**


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